At 10:30 a.m., the Independent Budget office releases its analysis of Bloomberg’s executive budget for 2014 and his financial plan through 2017.

At 11 a.m., NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin, Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott and NYCLU Director Donna Lieberman hold a press conference to speak out against a resolution that calls on Albany to allow religious groups to use New York City public school space for worship services; Tweed Courthouse, 52 Chambers St., Manhattan.

…The Council’s Education Committee holds a hearing and will vote on the same bill at 1 p.m.

At 11:30 a.m., thousands of nurses and healthcare workers from across New York will rally in Albany in advance of their lobby day, West Capitol Park, state Capitol.

Also at 11:30 a.m., Common Cause/NY and NYPIRG will unveil an in-depth analysis of soft money giving to housekeeping accounts in New York, LCA Press Room, LOB 130, Albany.

From 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., Cuomo’s New NY Education Reform Commission is holding a public symposium on “innovative solutions for restructuring public school systems,” The Huxley Theater, NYS Museum, 222 Madison Ave., Albany.

Also at 12:30 p.m., the New York State DREAM Coalition will call on the Senate to pass the DREAM Act before the session ends. (The Assembly is expected to take up the measure today), Million Dollar staircase, state Capitol, Albany.

From 12:45 p.m. to 2 p.m., CUNY administrators, former U.S. Secretary of State and retired U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell and the commander of the U.S. Army Cadet Command, Maj. Gen. Jefforey Smith, discuss the establishment of an Army Senior ROTC program on all of the university’s campuses; The Great Hall, second floor, Shepard Hall, 160 Convent Ave., Manhattan.

Kerry Kennedy is scheduled to appear tonight in North Castle Town Court as her drugged-driving case ambles toward trial.

Headlines…

Facing growing pressure to resign his leadership post, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for the first time publicly said “I’m sorry” for helping to cover up the Vito Lopez sexual harassment scandal.

Silver announced he would establish an independent investigator to handle and direct any complaint of that type brought by an Assembly employee, and would make all lawmakers and supervisory staff “mandatory reporters” of harassment complaints.

The NYT calls on Brooklyn residents to reject Vito Lopez’s NYC Council candidacy if he makes good on his threat to run.

The NY Post ties Cuomo firmly to the Lopez mess, calling on him to change his tune on Silver. “So long as the governor defends Shelly, he will be defined by Shelly.”

“People say the speaker should resign…I said, I don’t,” Cuomo said yesterday. “The Assembly will decide who is the leader of the Assembly. They vote. I don’t vote.”

“Even after a state ethics report criticized him for covering up allegations of sexual harassment against a powerful assemblyman, even after a prosecutor said his failure to act might have put other women at risk, even after a number of editorial boards called for his ouster, Mr. Silver is still standing strong.”

After Assemblyman Mickey Kearns quit the conference in protest over Silver’s ongoing leadership, a spokesman for the speaker said: “Two members left the Democratic conference today, Vito Lopez and Mickey Kearns. One was a closet harasser, one a closet Republican. Neither one will be missed.”

The Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, a nonprofit founded by Lopez in 1973 when he was just 31, is likely to survive this scandal, though it will long be linked to the scandal-scarred former lawmaker.

Cuomo invited leaders of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association to the Capitol to tell them to end their public criticism of the SAFE Act, and threatened to remove them from office if they didn’t.

Bill and Hillary Clinton are making clear they are staying out of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, just as the race is about to be roiled by the candidacy of their close aide Huma Abedin’s husband, Anthony Weiner.

Former Brooklyn Councilman Sal Albanese, one of Weiner’s potential Democratic primary rivals, demanded that the ex-congressman pony up $350,000 for the cost of the election required to fill his hastily vacated House seat two years ago.

Chelsea Clinton has quietly taken on a big new job at New York University, tackling what the school calls a “multifaith” role as co-founder and co-chair of its brand-new Of Many Institute.

Removable steel panels up to 12 feet high, preventing river water from once again overwhelming NYC streets, may soon line the West Side Highway and other parts of New York’s waterfront.

The judge presiding over the stop-and-frisk trial in NYC has left little question as to her opinion on the practice, criticizing the NYPD’s “high error rate.”

The high-end clothing line backed by reality star Khloe Kardashian yanked a New York-themed t-shirt from its website, hours after Gov. Cuomo’s administration warned the item may be violating copyright law.

Niagara Falls this year plans to repave only about one-third of the amount of roadway it did four years ago. The culprit, according to city leaders, is the casino cash crunch.

NYC Council Minority Leader James Oddo is renewing a push for legislation requiring that a more stringent standard be put in place before the city Campaign Finance Board hands taxpayer funds over to candidates for elected office.

Madison County will begin its deliberations today on the groundbreaking deal announced last week between the Oneida Indian Nation and the state of New York.

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Capitol Confidential gathers the best coverage of New York politics and puts it all together. Each section - Capitol, The State Worker, New York on the Potomac, and Voices - represents a unique facet of the political scene. The Capitol section features coverage from the Times Union Capitol bureau. The State Worker is dedicated to state worker issues. New York on the Potomac offers news of interest to New Yorkers from Washington. And Voices features the best of everything else, pointing you to columnists and bloggers from across the Web.